Saturday, January 11 . 3pm. Ian Moorcroft Stadium
Tiverton Town v Havant & Waterlooville
Pitching In Southern League Premier Division South
A SHORT way into Rob Dray's managerial reign, midway through November, Tiverton visited Saturday's opposition and lost 3-1.
Since their trip to Hampshire, the Yellows’ last two victories were later in November; we face the play-off placed Hawks this time, although there has been a steadying of the ship with a string of draws, wins are, at the moment, precious commodities.
With arrivals Toby Down, Marcus Day and Nat Jarvis all bedding themselves into Roby Dray's plans and players leaving for pastures new the transition period is slowly coming to an end and we are beginning to see the manager and his coaching staff’s vision for the future.
A positive spin can be put on what was achieved last Saturday, as we were the equals of league leaders Merthyr Town in an enthralling match. But there is an old adage in sport, that says the next game is the most important and a falling away of the standards set then will almost certainly end in failure.
The form in particular of Joe Duncan, Oli Jenkins, Down and Day have been real plusses and the whole squad has all stepped up.
It is a bit of a dogfight already in the lower half at the table and this has resulted in a few managerial departures this week with Poole & Gosport both changing the make-up of their dugouts this week.
Havant & Waterlooville, on the other hand, will have started the season with the remit of an immediate return to National League South following relegation last term. Holding down one of the play-off places will be foremost on the minds of all of those connected to the Hawks and, for both teams, the reward of all three points is very much the aim.
Sixty-four-year-old Manager Shaun North has coaching experience in the EFL: Bristol Rovers, Cheltenham, Torquay and Portsmouth have all called on his abilities in the past as an assistant manager or coach and he was briefly a caretaker manager with the Gas. Whilst at Bristol Rovers in that role, he managed them in an FA Cup tie against Premier League Aston Villa.
Anyone who has made a habit of watching our annual pre-season games against Exeter City will have seen former Grecians favourite Nigel Atangana on quite a few occasions and the midfielder is very much part of the Hawks’ set-up and a hugely influential player for them.
The Frenchman played for the visitors before embarking on a professional career that also included spells with Portsmouth, Leyton Orient and Cheltenham. He was signed from Eastleigh during last season.
Captain and centre-back Joe Mcnerny is 34 and his five seasons at EFL Crawley Town saw him amass 122 league appearances, a pedigree that cannot be ignored at this level. Neither can his time at Woking in the National League, in which he appeared 251 times for them.
Forward Ryan Seager, who scored against us in the reverse fixture, was a professional at Southampton, making a couple of first-team appearances and also playing in the EFL for hometown club Yeovil Town, Crewe Alexandra and MK Dons. Still only 26, he was prolific at Hungerford and has also played higher up the pyramid with Dorking Wanderers.
Seager and strike partner Harvey Bradbury have ten league goals apiece. Bradbury, also 26, signed pro forms at Portsmouth, then Premier League Watford and Championship side Millwall. The tall striker finally played league football with Morecombe and, apart from a short stint with Oxford United, has since plied his trade in the non-League with the likes of Woking, Hungerford, Dorchester, Gosport and Farnborough.
Australian striker Callum Kealy is another strong forward option. Another scorer in the reverse fixture, he has plenty of experience at steps higher in the non-League. Worthing, Dorking, Sutton United and Eastbourne are all former clubs.
Midfielder Keane Anderson has made a real impression at the Hawks and is currently on loan from Aldershot.
Ben Dudzinski is first choice gloveman. Achieving promotion to the National League with Oxford City earlier in his career, Dudzinski’s football journey has seen him play for Dartford, Sutton United and Eastbourne Borough, turning out for the Sussex side before signing for the Hawks.
The Yellows will once again be looking to find a winning formula and there has been plenty of work done behind the scenes ahead of this one.
So let us all get behind the team on Saturday, as everyone at the club looks for a winter warmer.
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